Tencent has revealed plans to integrate its voice-enabled digital assistant Xiaowei into its flagship messaging app WeChat. The integration will allow WeChat’s more than 1 billion active users to perform tasks such as playing music and hailing rides via voice command within the app. However, no further details on either the launch date of Xiaowei on WeChat or how many services it will support were revealed at the time of the announcement.
In addition to revealing that WeChat has reached 1 billion daily active users during WeChat’s annual conference held in Guangzhou on 9 January 2019, Tencent unveiled 2019 plans to focus on developing mini programs by expanding the company’s advertising inventory, as well as adding a video-sharing feature to WeChat.

KDDI and Rakuten have announced an agreement to utilize each other’s assets in telecommunication, payment and logistics to improve customer experience and further strengthen their competitiveness in these fields. The deal will allow Rakuten to use KDDI’s network to enter the mobile market, while KDDI can make use of Rakuten’s payment and logistics infrastructure.

Indonesia-based ride hailing company Go-Jek plans to launch its own online video subscription service, Go-Play. The video service will be available for daily, monthly and yearly subscriptions and the expected launch date is not disclosed yet.

Mobile messaging apps tracked by IHS Markit achieved a combined user base of 6.1 billion monthly active users by the end of 2017. As the market matures, the overall growth rate is slowing and smaller players are struggling.

US-based Snap, parent of messaging app Snapchat, has launched its second wearable product Spectacles V2.
Available for USD 150 via the Snapchat app and website, the new Spectacles sunglasses will be available in more than 20 markets in the first couple of weeks of launch and feature: photo as well as video capture, HD recording by default, improved Bluetooth pairing, prescription lenses support, and new colour options.

Indian messaging company Hike now allows services on its messaging app to be available to mobile phone users without the access to mobile data. The service, “Total, built by Hike”, provides offline services including messaging, recharge, P2P money transfer, as well as checking cricket scores and train status.
Hike Total requires a special version of the Android OS to function. To enable this, Hike has partnered with local smartphone makers Karbonn and Intex to launch smartphones that have pre-installed Hike Total. The first batch of smartphones is expected to be available in the market on March 2018 with prices starting from IDR 3,000 (USD 45).

Spotify and Tencent have agreed a share swap and investment deal. The exact terms between the streaming music company and the Chinese internet giant have not been revealed but industry publications have reported that under the deal Spotify and Tencent Music Entertainment TME) will get 10% of each other’s businesses. TME, which is majority-owned by Tencent is the leading music streaming service in China powering offers from QQ Music, KuGou and Kuwo. In addition to the stock swap Tencent has acquired a stake in Spotify by purchasing shares from existing backers.

• Visa introduces the Visa Global Transit Solutions, a worldwide programme to foster seamless commuting thorough contactless payments.
• The new Visa Ready for Transit program incorporates new standards to simplify the certification of payment solutions for operators and transit solution providers easing consumers’ doubts.
• Visa looks at the future with an Innovation Center based in London researching the future of transportation and new technologies.

US-based mobile games developer Niantic has partnered with Warner Bros to develop a new game based on the Harry Potter brand. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is set to launch in 2018 and will incorporate augmented reality (AR) features into the game.

Uber partnered with Barclays and Visa to launch Uber Visa Card. In addition to increasing incentive offerings and enhancing the payment experience, Uber also aims to access customer information and data to expand its role in online and offline commerce.

Broadcom has released the BCM47755 dual frequency GNSS receiver for smartphones, tablets and wearable devices. The chip promises higher location accuracy combined with lower power consumption. If the company’s claims can be validated in real-world usage and Broadcom can gain design wins with hardware makers, contextually aware mobile user experiences will improve significantly.

Alibaba has established a dedicated gaming business group to develop in-house titles following the acquisition of Ejoy Technology, a China-based online games developer. The founder of Ejoy is the former COO of NetEase and will take charge of Alibaba’s new gaming division, which will sit within Alibaba’s Digital Media and Entertainment Group.

Google launched an audio QR code-based mobile payments app in India. The new service “Tez” will allow customers to make in-store and online mobile transactions by using ultrasonic sounds authorisation, mobile numbers or email address.

iPhone X is a premium priced smartphone which for the first time goes over the $1000 for threshold for the top 256Gb model. It will still sell in enormous volumes because Apple has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to persuade consumers to shift their overall spending to place a greater share of their disposable income towards a smartphone purchase. Apple Watch Series 3’s design is an impressive technical achievement because Apple has added 3G and LTE connectivity without increasing the size of the watch